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TUESDAY WOES

I'm going to rant about my phobia here for a while. I'm very, very wary of Tuesday. Since the day i could understand language, my dad has been repeatedly telling me , drilling it into my skull that Tuesday, the day is Bogeyman. That if wear a new frock on a Tuesday, it will be torn to pieces ; I buy a new book, I'll lose it ; I start taking dance classes , I'll fail ; I get out of bed, I'll die, okay this was a little exaggerated but you get the point.

Having been brain-washed since I was 3, this fear is something so deeply embedded in my head, that I still haven't gotten over it. In fact, it's a standing joke with my friends that V isn't going to make any plans today, cause it's Tuesday. People don't even extend Tuesday invitations to me any more. And no matter how hard I try, I just can not shake it off.

Recently, I reached a tipping pint. I was deeply upset by this suffocating superstition , this crippling helplessness I felt for 24 hours , every week. I barely talk to my friends, I don't work on anything, I skip gym, it's my cheat day. It is , in a way, relaxing ; but the pros don't even begin to match up to the agonizing cons. It throws a spoke into life, and no, I'm not exaggerating.

Back to the point, I started reading up on my dad's reason for annoying me all my life, and for being scared all of his.

There's a Hindu astrological reason. Every day is dedicated to a certain planet. Now, Tuesday is ruled by Mars. Mars is the malefic God of War. The God of War is mean and creates conflicts and troubles for us earth people on Tuesday. Specially, new endeavors tend to crash. And It's better to keep your distance from your loved ones , Mars will try it's best to make you fight and create problems in your relationship. And, apparently, forging new relationships, is the dumbest thing you can do. Mars will make sure that the strangers you meet on this day will remain strangers,no matter how hard you try, so don't even bother to try is the edict.

This solved the mystery of my dad's belief and behavior for me.

But, it still didn't help uproot the phobia from my head. Come on, Mars is a planet, how is it going to make fight with my best friend or , lose my job.

I started reading up on Tuesdays. And here's what I came up with :

Norse Mythology

Tuesday is the day of Twy ot Tyr, who is the God of Single Combat, and exercises a negative influence over the day.

Japanese Etymology

Tuesday in Japanese means the day of fire. Burning, all consuming horror, that makes the day one of destruction.

Greek Mythology

Tuesday is ruled by Ares, the God of War. Similar to the Hindu mythological Kuja/Mars. An incident that confirmed this belief in the minds of the Greeks was the Fall of Constantinople in the 4th crusade, had happened on a Tuesday.

Thai Belief

The Thai, too, believe that Tuesday is ruled by Mars, the planet of war. In conjunction with this , the Pali word that they use for the planet Mars, has another meaning - ' Ashes of the Dead'. Hence, the Thai consider it an unlucky day.

World over it is largely believed that bad luck comes in threes. And, lo , Tuesday is the third day of the week.

Now, I'm ever more superstitious and stressed. So, any one who wants to leave a good therapist's number for me, comment below.

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